


(I'm In Front of You) I'm Every Day

by slapshots



Series: Self Control [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, JUST GOOD SHIT AGAIN, M/M, Making Up, Starting Over, breaking up, maybe even... more sex than last time...., reggie is a pro football star
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-17 17:22:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18969634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slapshots/pseuds/slapshots
Summary: Ten years later, Reggie Mantle returns to Riverdale to bury his father and reconnects with his past.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ARE YOU GUYS READY FOR PART TWO??? I'm not!!! So, because I wrote part one long before season 3's shenanigans, none of season 3 happened. This is a universe all on its own. I love you guys, thank you for the continuous support even when I hadn't checked ao3 for a long ass time. Y'all brought me back. The title is from Frank Ocean's 'Facebook Story'.

Reggie’s return to Riverdale was a lot of what he thought it was going to be: familiar faces watching him drive in with wide eyes and big smiles, arms ready to fly off from the way they were waving. Reggie was a hometown hero, after all: full ride scholarship to Oregon State for football and went on to be the first active openly homosexual player in the NFL.

It was funny how okay people were with whatever you did when you made a bit of money.

Reggie got out of his corvette in the driveway of his house and smoothed out the front of his shirt, squinting through the sun until he got his sunglasses on, and smiled at his mom, waiting for him in the doorway.

“Mom,” he said, pocketing his keys and moving towards her. Vicky sighed deeply as she enveloped him in a hug and buried her face against his chest. Reggie wrapped her small frame up in his arms and let her weep against him, feeling disconnected and uncomfortable. “I’m sorry about dad.”

-

Ricky Mantle had died. That’s all there was to it.

Reggie didn’t feel anything about it. His dad had died, and… he didn’t feel a damn thing. Natural causes. Not much of a tragedy, in his opinion.

Still, he showed up to the funeral home to help his mother make arrangements. He picked out the casket with her. He picked out the gravestone. He picked out the inscription and the style of cross, and he kept his mouth shut about anything else as Vicky wiped tears from her eyes. When they got home, Vicky went straight to her bedroom and closed the door, and Reggie did the same.

He stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at his childhood room. His mother must have had it cleaned while he was gone, or must have upon learning that he was on his way back home. Not a single thing out of place, not a single speck of dust in sight. His Bulldogs jersey hung on the wall along with his letterman jacket, and old, fading photographs lined the wall above his old study desk. Reggie walked by them and brought his hand up to touch them. Reggie and Moose holding each other and laughing, covered in mud in their football jerseys. Reggie and Archie arm wrestling while Jughead stood by, arms crossed over his chest, unimpressed as usual. Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Archie, and Jughead at Pop’s.

Reggie’s hand stopped over the only framed picture and he picked it up. 

-

_Reggie forced himself to get out of bed early to drive his ass to the grocery store. He felt like a zombie as he dragged his feet through the produce section, yawning and rubbing his eyes in between grabbing potatoes and vegetables, and he almost forgot his pin number as he paid for the groceries._

_His mom and dad came down, dressed to the tens, as he was boiling potatoes and peeling vegetables, and they exchanged a look of confusion._

_“We’re heading out, sweetheart,” his mother said as she tip-toed to smack a rolled-lip kiss to Reggie’s cheek, as to not get her lipstick smudged._

_“Have fun,” Reggie said monotonously. He waited to hear the door shut before he raced up the stairs and opened his door. “The coast is clear.”_

_The bathroom door opened and Kevin rolled his eyes._

_“Thank God. Where are they going?” he asked, reaching for Reggie and pressing a quick kiss to his lips before they padded down the stairs with their socked feet._

_“It’s Thanksgiving. They’ve got shit to do, people to see.”_

_“You mean they aren’t having Thanksgiving with you?” Kevin asked, sliding his fingers through Reggie’s hair and tugging him back. “Reggie. Explain.”_

_Reggie groaned and backpedalled until he and Kevin were at the same pace and the hand dropped from his hair._

_“They go to these big, lavish, all-day events that turn into soirees. I didn’t feel like going this year.” The doorbell rang and Reggie cocked an eyebrow. “We’ll have better company than stuffy one-percenters.” The doorbell rang, and he opened the door to Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead. “Well, we’ll have one stuffy one-percenter.”_

_Veronica unabashedly jabbed her finger against Reggie’s chest. “_ Two. _Don’t forget where you come from, Mantle. Hello, Kevin!”_

_“What’s going on?” Kevin asked, giving Veronica a hug and staring at Reggie over her head, a small smile stretching over his face. “Are you… hosting Friendsgiving?”_

_“Ah, well. My parents are gone, your dad’s working, Alice is crazy, FP’s got gang shit to do, Fred wanted Archie to go out and have fun, and…” Reggie glanced at Veronica. “Let’s be real, Veronica’s got a really fucked up family.”_

_“Thanks, Reginald.”_

_“So why not Friendsgiving?”_

_Kevin grinned big and grabbed Reggie by the face and smacked a kiss against his cheek just as Jughead snapped a photo. Reggie shrugged him off, but couldn’t stop the shy smile that crept onto his face._

-

Reggie placed the picture back down and stared at it for a moment longer before sitting down on his bed and breathing out a heavy sigh.

Riverdale felt exactly the same, yet Reggie was an entirely new person.

-

The funeral was lavish, over the top, and everything his father would have wanted, probably. Reggie stood beside his mother with a glass of scotch in hand, smiling and shaking hands with people he recognized, but could mostly never match a name with their face. He accepted their words of sympathy and condolences and draped his arm around his mother whenever she got particularly sad.

A flash of red hair entered his peripherals and he and Archie locked eyes over the crowd of people and a warm feeling suddenly overcame Reggie. His face softened and he set his tumbler down, excusing himself from Vicky.

“I honestly thought you’d have gotten outta here, Andrews,” Reggie said as he strode over to Archie with a smile. The redhead was dressed for the occasion, in a black suit and tie. Reggie himself opted to not wear a jacket and instead had on black slacks and a crisp white button-up shirt.

“Believed me, I tried,” Archie laughed, reaching for him and giving him a tight hug. “It’s good to see you, but not under these circumstances.”

“Ah, well.” Reggie looked around at all the familiar faces that had shown up, and a tight smile stretched over his face. “That’s life.”

Archie was a session musician now, and Reggie nodded along like he knew what he was talking about. Archie saw right through him and laughed, explaining he played in studios rather than in bands and on tour. A recording artist. He and Veronica were expecting their first baby and had gotten married two years prior. Reggie had missed the wedding due to football season.

“I won’t miss this,” Reggie promised as Veronica approached them, her belly tripled in size. “When are you due?”

“Any fucking day, now,” Veronica grumbled, shuffling over with her arms out. Reggie hugged her as best as he could, a fond smile on his face.

“Reginald is a really good name,” he reminded her. Archie laughed and Veronica pulled away from him, giving his side a little pinch. “Well, if you won’t name the baby after me, I can at least get him… or her… a jersey.”

“Oh, my God, a little baby jersey,” Veronica said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, her hands flying to cover her mouth. “Reggie, that is so cute.”

“You should come to the studio tonight,” Archie said, his arm coming up around Veronica’s shoulders and giving her a light squeeze as she tried to wipe her watery eyes without smudging her make up. “We’ll have a few drinks, hang out and catch up. Betty and Jughead are in town, too.”

Reggie saw Josie, Sierra, and Tom Keller out of the corner of his eye and started to side-step away from Archie and Veronica.

“Sounds like a plan. Eight?”

“Eight sounds great. I’ll text you the address.”

“Great,” Reggie said, giving the couple one last smile before he reached Josie. He hugged her and squeezed her a little too tightly, making her yelp.

“Mantle!”

“Fuck, it’s good to see you,” he mumbled against her afro, letting her feet touch the ground again, and he let go to reach for Sierra, giving her a hug, and he gave Tom a small smile, offering his hand for a shake. He refrained from asking about Kevin, and Tom never brought him up. 

Reggie hadn’t thought about him in a long time, and he was determined to continue keeping it that way.

-

_In retrospect, Reggie should have seen it coming._

_He had become particularly studious, throwing himself into his studies to keep his full ride scholarship. After he had come out to his parents, Ricky withdrew all of his funds and Reggie had to work hard, for once. The change was sudden, and Kevin wasn't used to Reggie not being around._

_They had both gone to Oregon State. Kevin followed Reggie there, which was mistake number one. Kevin had no real goals or aspirations and found himself in slumps, but emotionally and scholarly. Kevin became moody, needy, everything Reggie didn't need, because he knew exactly where he wanted to be by the time he was 25. Reggie took longer to respond to texts. He would stay up late to study and by the time he got back to their apartment, Kevin would be asleep. Kevin stopped showing up to his games. They started arguing about priorities, and Reggie, ever so honest, told Kevin that his top priority was his football career._

_Reggie never thought he'd come home to Kevin in bed with another man._

_Moreover, he never thought it would be Moose._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thx for the kudos!!!

Reggie woke up with a pounding headache and sore muscles and memories of the night before that had melted together. He groggily sat up and rubbed at his eyes, squinting around the room. Veronica was tapping away at her phone on one of the couches while muffled acoustics sounded from the studio as Archie presumably had a recording session. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” Veronica said, setting her phone down and clapping her hands. “Help me up and take me to get some food, please.”

Reggie groaned and stood, walking over to her and taking her hands to help her off of the couch.

“Waffles,” Veronica decided, and Reggie, still silent, only nodded his head and searched his pockets for his keys. Veronica knocked on the glass and Archie looked up from his guitar. She motioned eating and Archie nodded before going back to his music. “Let’s go, Reginald.” She grabbed Reggie’s hand and dragged him away.

“Ugh,” was the first thing out of Reggie’s mouth as the spring sun shone down on them. He closed his eyes and trusted Veronica to lead him in the direction of his car.

“We didn’t tell you something last night,” Veronica said as she let go of his hand to walk to the passenger’s side of the car.

“I don’t remember much of last night,” Reggie admitted, his voice scratchy, and he climbed into the seat of his corvette. He started it up and put on his sunglasses, buckling himself in. “Pop’s?” Veronica looked at him fondly, her eyes starting to well up.

“Oh, Reggie, the _memories._ ”

“Please stop,” Reggie said, making a face at her and shaking his head. “Anyway, what didn’t you tell me?”

“Do you think pickles taste good with a milkshake?” Veronica asked, staring straight ahead. “Tangy. Sour. Also sweet.”

“That sounds fucking disgusting.”

“God, it sounds heavenly.”

They parked and Reggie helped Veronica out of the car, her pregnant waddle in full swing as she walked up to Pop’s beside him. Pop’s fell silent the moment they walked in and Reggie took off his shades, pocketing them, and then some kids and teenagers scurried over to the door, surrounding them.

“Mr. Mantle!”

“Can I take a selfie with you?”

“Will you sign my iPhone case? It’s the only thing I have on me!”

Veronica burst out laughing and stepped out of the way to find them a booth while Reggie, hungover and overwhelmed, put on his sunglasses to hide his bloodshot eyes to take pictures with the kids. When the crowd thinned out, he slid into the booth with Veronica, huffing out a sigh.

“It doesn’t get any less weird,” he said, and Veronica laughed.

“Oh, you’re still that dickhead Mantle to me, Reggie.”

“And you’re still that prissy princess to me, Ronnie.”

To Reggie’s horror, Veronica ordered a vanilla milkshake with pickles on the side, then reached across the table to hold his hand.

“You’re getting waffles,” she said with a _very_ convincing nod of her head. When Reggie opened his mouth to protest, Veronica shook her head and wagged a finger. “No, no, no, baby, trust me. You’re getting waffles.”

When the food came, Veronica speared her fork through one of Reggie’s waffles, shaking it out onto the extra side plate she had asked for and smiled sweetly at him. “You’re an athlete so you don’t really eat carbs anyway, right?”

“It’s off season and I can eat whatever the fuck I want,” Reggie said with no heat behind his words and a small smile on his face. He cut into the remaining waffle and collected some scrambled eggs and a slice of sausage with it, shoving it in his mouth. He let out a muffled gag around the mouthful of food when Veronica bit into a pickle and sipped on her milkshake. She leaned back in her seat, rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and let out a very satisfied ‘ _ahhh!_ ’. “You’re the worst. You’re the actual worst.”

Reggie paid for their meal and Veronica linked their arms together, and Reggie cast a glance at her. He and Veronica had become quite close before Reggie became too busy and made his official move to NYC, where he played for the Jets, and she and Archie were two of the people he kept in touch with the most. 

Veronica was nervous.

They got back to the car and drove back to the studio, and Reggie turned the car off and reached over to touch Veronica’s hand as she made to leave, stopping her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and Veronica’s smile faltered slightly.

“Nothing, come on.” She tried to get out of the car, and Reggie’s touch turned into a light hold to keep her there.

“Ronnie.”

Veronica sighed and sat back in the seat, pulling her arm from Reggie’s hand and clasping her hands together.

“Kevin’s back in town, too.”

Reggie blinked.

“Yeah. He’s the new music teacher and theatre director for Riverdale High.”

“That’s… good. That’s good. Good for him.” Reggie turned and got out of the car, shutting the door behind him, and Veronica followed, watching him closely. He fumbled around with his keys for a few seconds, his brows knitted together, then slid them into his jean pocket. “Is, ah. Is Moose still the football coach?”

Veronica gave him a small smile and nodded her head.

“Cool. Yeah, cool, good.” He was inside the building as soon as Veronica could open the door and went straight to the bathroom.

He splashed his face with cold water and stared at himself in the mirror for a few seconds, catching the breath he had just lost, and then fished his car keys out and left.

-

_It was a stupid argument. Reggie had only said he wished that Kevin had some kind of aspirations to work towards with the amount of potential he had, wondered why he never pursued anything he was passionate about. They were 22, had been in school for four years, Reggie was gearing up to continue his football career into the NFL and Kevin? Well. Kevin was content just taking general studies classes with musical classes as electives._

_The football season was coming to an end, so Reggie had begun decluttering their apartment and cleaning up for their summer move from Oregon back to Riverdale when he found Kevin’s college applications and acceptance letters._

_“Why didn’t you want to continue musical studies? Why did you turn down NYU Tisch?_ How _could you turn down NYU Tisch?” Reggie had demanded, finding the folded up letter Kevin had received, waving it around._

_“Tisch is where you aren’t,” Kevin said, snatching the letter back and folding it back up again. “So it doesn’t – it doesn’t matter.”_

_“So what? You thought about it enough to send in an audition tape, and Kevin, they fucking loved you, why would they offer you a spot if they didn’t? This is insane. This is incredible. Fuck, you even auditioned for_ Juilliard _, Kev?”_

_“So what if I went to Tisch and you signed a deal in California, or something? The Oakland Raiders want you, don’t they?”_

_“So we’ll fucking make it_ work _, Kevin!” Reggie sighed exasperatedly, stepping closer to him and grabbing his hands, lacing their fingers together. “You’re not a fucking trophy wife. You’re meant to do shit, you know that, right?”_

_“I’m not trying to be a fucking trophy wife,” Kevin said, eyes flashing, dropping their hands. “I just don’t want to be somewhere you aren’t.”_

_“Tough shit, Kev!” Reggie said with a mirthless laugh. “We have Skype, we have FaceTime.”_

_“Why don’t you feel the same way about this as me? Why are you just – so easily ready to not be together?”_

_“Because that’s life, dude,” Reggie said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe we’ll stay together. Maybe we won’t. But you’re not on my life journey with me, you’re on your own fucking life journey.”_

_Kevin, stricken, had taken a giant step back, and Reggie nodded his head._

_“Yeah. That’s that real shit right there, isn’t it? I want the fucking best for you, Kevin. And you and your talents are wasting away being my boyfriend. You’re your own person, you’ve got your own shit, and you should pursue that regardless of where it puts me, because I’ve pursued my career regardless of where it puts you. I love you, but we’re twenty-two years old and we have a lot of life to live and I need to focus on my shit, and only my shit, so we have the rest of our lives together – or separate. We don’t know. You should do the same.”_

_Reggie picked up his duffel and left without another word._

_After the game, Reggie walked through the stadium in search for Kevin. He was hopeful that Kevin had shown up, but when it was obvious he hadn’t, when all that was left were the janitors and clean-up crew, he finally gave up and went down to the parking lot to drive home._

_When he opened the door, he opened his mouth to say something but noticed an extra pair of shoes up against the wall. He closed the door and walked through the apartment, looking around, and saw a couple bottles of wine on the coffee table in the living room._

_“Hey, Kevin?” Reggie called out, opening the bedroom door, and he heard some shuffling and scrambling as he reached for the light. Reggie took a step back, his hand still on the doorknob._

_“Reggie,” Kevin started, softly, his voice quivering as he glanced at the clock on their bedside table._

_“You fucking_ cunt _,” Reggie spat out, looking directly at Moose. “Get the_ fuck _out of my apartment before I fucking _lose it_.” Moose opened his mouth to speak as he got his boxers and jeans on. “Thirty floors is a long way to fall, don’t you fucking think? Get out!”_

_Reggie followed him through the living room and kicked the front door shut the moment he was out and he paced around the coffee table, trying to calm himself down, and stormed into the kitchen to get a drink of water._

_Kevin took a while to come out and stood on the other side of the counter, looking down at the table as Reggie looked across at him._

_“Didn’t like what I had to say earlier?” he finally asked, clenching his jaw, keeping his temper at bay, and Kevin’s eyes flickered up to him before he cast them back down, tears beginning to well at the corners of his eyes. “And out of everyone in – out of_ anyone in this fucking city _, you had to – “ Reggie cut himself off as his voice got thicker and he blinked his own tears away before standing up straight. “Fuck you, Keller. Have a good fucking life.”_

_“Reggie, wait –“_

_Reggie locked the bedroom door and finished his packing. He left the door locked all night and when he opened the door, Kevin was asleep on the floor beside it.  
Reggie stepped around him and left._

_In the middle of his flight, he got a text from his agent saying he should sign with the New York Jets and the irony nearly grounded the plane, he started laughing so hard._

-

Reggie didn’t know why he had agreed when Principal Weatherbee asked him to talk to students about success and following your dreams. He allowed himself to be sweet talked into it – after all, he was a Bulldog and had a soft spot for his hometown, but with the knowledge that Kevin was now a teacher and Moose was the head football coach, it made him feel sick to his stomach. He had truly forced himself to not think about either of them for the last five years, trying to forget how that night made him feel, but for the last week, it was all he’d been able to think about.

He thought about the THC vape pen in his pocket to mellow him out, and then he thought about the baggie of coke he had in his glove compartment to give him an extra _umph_. He shook his head and wrung his hands on the steering wheel of his car.

He wasn’t gonna be fucking high while giving high school students a speech.

He sat in the parking lot for a full half hour before pumping himself up enough to get out of the car.

Walking through the halls and seeing what had changed and what had remained was a surreal experience for him. Classes were still in session, so no students were roaming the halls. He walked by the art classes, the language classes, stopped by the trophy case to see him and Archie being hoisted above everyone’s heads, championship trophy in hand, and smiled.

And then he heard Kevin’s voice in the auditorium.

He stayed by the door, listening to Kevin delegate tasks for the stage crew as they set up for the spring play, and a wave of emotion fell over him. He edged a little bit closer so he could peek inside and when he saw Kevin, it felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

Kevin looked great. He had filled out more, toned up more, looked a little bit older, and his hair was short in the back and slightly longer in the front. 

Kevin looked up from the fence he was painting and met Reggie’s gaze and both of them froze.

Kevin stood up and Reggie stepped away from the door and started back down the hallway, sending an e-mail to Weatherbee saying he wasn’t feeling well and would come in another day. 

He got into his car and left.


End file.
